About

About UsWe are employees and Friends of Menomonie Public Library. Several of us are on the Music Over Menomin ("MOM") Committee. We're passionate about providing fun, diverse, and FREE programs to our Wisconsin community.

Music Over MenominFive years ago, Music Over Menomin formed. Every summer since, thousands of Menomonie community members have gathered on our lakeside lawn to listen to a variety local music, for free. Some attend every show all summer long! Even when the annual algae bloom makes the lake a bit smelly, or there's a plague of mosquitos, the support we get from our community is apparent when they show up time and time again to listen to great, live music.

From high school bands, to jazz groups, to a whole family of folk musicians (and more!), Music Over Menomin provides something for everyone and is a great way for our community members to learn about local talent. Music Over Menomin is fun for everyone and we frequently see entire families on our lawn, from newborns to great-grandparents.

Patrons of all ages enjoying a storytime break during Claytown's performance

Why Kickstarter?As we mentioned in the "About Us", we're passionate about providing diverse programming, so this Kickstarter project is actually going to be one of our free programs! We're inviting community members to watch our project go live, and we're showing them the entire process of creating, launching, and (hopefully) fulfilling a Kickstarter project. (Disclaimer: as information specialists, we promise to keep all backers' personal and contact information available ONLY to those directly involved with the project, and not available to the public during our Kickstarter programs.)

A large crowd on our lawn, just the way we like it!

We could go on and on about budget cuts, but we won't waste your time. Here are the facts: Music Over Menomin will happen regardless of Kickstarter funding. We're experimenting with Kickstarter so we can offer a new program to our patrons , potentially fund our concert series with outside funds, and (if successful) have funds available to offer even more exciting, new programs for our patrons. We'd love to create a small maker-space, host monthly "lunch and learn" events, or even bring in a best-selling author to our library, all of which would be possible with a successful Kickstarter project.

Lake Menomin in the summer

Where will the money go?Over the years we've had as few as six or as many as nine musicians scheduled over the summer. For our 2015 series, we're planning on booking eight musicians, and we typically pay each of them about $300 to perform.

8 musicians x $300 = $2,400

Rewards = $1,000

Kickstarter and Stripe's slice of the pie = about $300

As you can see, if we meet our goal we'll be a little short of what we need, but the Friends of Menomonie Public Library have agreed to provide the difference.

RewardsFrom stickers to camping chairs, all our rewards will prominently display the Music Over Menomin logo. Additionally, all backers are invited to attend our concert series. If you can make it to Menomonie, WI, we'll welcome you with open arms!

Due to the size and weight of the camping chairs, any reward containing a camping chair will not be available for shipping. We apologize for this inconvenience. Rewards with camping chairs will be available for local pick-up only.

A frozen Lake Menomin with Menomonie in the background

Menomonie is a town of about 17,000 in West-Central Wisconsin (Eau Claire is 25 miles east and Minneapolis is 60 miles west). We're home to University of Wisconsin-Stout, the historic Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, and many natural attractions.

Menomonie is derived from "menomonee", an Algonquin word meaning "wild rice people". To differentiate from the several other "Menomonees" in Wisconsin, the Post Office adopted an alternate spelling in the late 1800s, which has been used since. Lake Menomin took its name from Menomonie after 1901, when the local saw mills closed and it became apparent that the mill pond was actually a lake.

Menomonie Public Library (in the winter)

Menomonie Public Library has had a few different homes within the City of Menomonie and moved to its current home on the shores of Lake Menomin in the mid-1980s. The library was designed by one of Frank Lloyd Wright's disciples, John Howe, and takes advantage of the beautiful lake views and natural lighting. This concludes our local history lesson!

Risks and challenges

Music Over Menomin will happen regardless of successful Kickstarter funding. The Friends of Menomonie Public Library and Menomonie Public Library Foundation will continue to support our summer concert series, as they have in the past. However, successful Kickstarter Funding will allow us to explore other programming opportunities for our community, such as bringing in a best-selling author, creating a small maker-space, or hosting "lunch and learn" programs, to name a few.

We do not foresee any risks fulfilling rewards since we have multiple vendor options to produce them. Presently, we have a primary vendor selected and quotes for all the rewards, with a few back-ups planned. With successful funding, we will place orders in March for April delivery. Rewards will be shipped and/or ready for local pick-up by end of May/early June, just in time for Music Over Menomin to kick-off!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

Folding camping chair in navy blue, with the Music Over Menomin logo. You'll never have to sit on the grass again (unless you want to...). Due to awkward shipping size, we will not be able to ship this reward, sorry!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

Get everything but the camping chair! This includes the postcard, 3" x 9" removable vinyl bumper sticker with Music Over Menomin logo, the 100% cotton tote with logo, and the 100% cotton T-shirt with logo.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

Get ALL the rewards! This includes the postcard, 3" x 9" removable vinyl bumper sticker with Music Over Menomin logo, the 100% cotton tote with logo, the 100% cotton T-shirt with logo, and the folding camping chair with (you guessed it!) our logo. Sorry, this reward is local pick-up only.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $300 or more
About $300

Sponsor one of our bands! We'll work with you on how best you want to do this, but at the LEAST we'll credit you as the band sponsor before the performance. Plus, you also get everything in the $100 reward, which includes the postcard, 3" x 9" removable vinyl bumper sticker with Music Over Menomin logo, the 100% cotton tote with logo, the 100% cotton T-shirt with logo, and the folding camping chair with logo. Sorry, this reward is available for local pick-up only.